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The Patrick Mahomes-Dylan Raiola connection? It’s more than a haircut and No. 15

Irishu
The Patrick Mahomes-Dylan Raiola connection? It’s more than a haircut and No. 15

LINCOLN, Neb. —There’s the haircut and Dylan Raiola‘s warmup routine in the moments before kickoff. There are the sunglasses, the mannerisms and the way he moves in and out of the pocket, decked out in red. There are the sidearm throws and even the misguided suggestion that his younger brother mimics Patrick Mahomes’ brother.

No. 15 jersey — styled not after Mahomes but Tim Tebow, the former Florida star — evokes a double take. But under the surface, much more connects Raiola, the Nebraska freshman quarterback, and Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs’ three-time Super Bowl-winning star.

A former five-star prospect out of Buford, Ga., Raiola has thrown for 967 yards and eight touchdowns in four college games. His first month was nearly flawless, in fact, until a late meltdown by the Huskers against Illinois last Friday led to a 31-24 loss in overtime.

Outside of Nebraska, though, his likeness to Mahomes dominates talk about the 19-year-old Raiola.

“I guess if that’s what people want to say,” Raiola said last month when the conversation erupted, “that guy is one of the best, so it’s cool.”

Raiola works extensively, even during the football season, with quarterbacks coach Jeff Christensen and trainer Bobby Stroupe, both of whom helped craft Mahomes into a two-time NFL MVP.

What’s lost amid the memes and social media backlash? Raiola did not connect with Mahomes’ support team as part of a plan to follow his path.

Raiola found them because of his proximity to Christensen and Stroupe, who operated separately out of north Texas when Raiola attended high school there in 2020 and 2021 — and because of their connections through Dylan’s father, former Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola.

They see more differences between Raiola and Mahomes than similarities.

“All the hyperbole, quite frankly, I could not care less,” said Christensen, a longtime coach and eight-year NFL QB. “You’ve got two great people, as far as I’m concerned, two great families and two kids who want ownership. They’re accountable. They care about their teammates. They’re good souls. And that’s as far as I go with it.”

Stroupe has moved his operation to Kansas City. He spends 10 hours per week during the season, he said, with Mahomes in the type of holistic training sessions documented last year in the Netflix series “Quarterback.”

His check-ins with Raiola remain often — in Lincoln and through digital monitoring of Raiola’s work.

Stroupe said he understands the fascination with measuring the Nebraska QB against the 29-year-old Mahomes. But it misses a larger point, he said.

“They do move the same,” Stroupe said. “They have some dimensions that give them some likeness. I think the way they throw the football, the way they protect the ball is a little different. Dylan’s going to take his own way. He’s going to diverge from Patrick quite a bit.

“I’m excited for Dylan to blaze his own trail.”


Comparisons between Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola have gained traction on social media this season. But there’s more to their story of similarities. (Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images, Dylan Widger / USA Today)

A holistic training approach

Stroupe’s methodology caught the eye of Dominic Raiola, the former All-America center at Nebraska who sought to find the best program for Dylan during his rise as a prospect. Dylan jumped on board last year with Stroupe.

Ranked by On3’s industry average as the No. 3 quarterback in the Class of 2024, he finished his first semester at Nebraska by starring in the spring game. His showing answered many questions about his readiness to step in as a freshman. Raiola then spent several weeks with Stroupe in Kansas City.

Nebraska strength coach Corey Campbell observed some of their sessions. The Stroupe partnership involves Campbell and others at Nebraska who work daily with the Huskers.

The arrangement works much like his interactions with Mahomes and the Chiefs, Stroupe said. His relationship with Mahomes dates for 20 years.

“For me,” Stroupe said, “it’s about nourishing their signature uniqueness and expanding on the things that make them different. Like, what is their unique talent?

What makes Mahomes unique? differs from what makes Raiola unique.

Mahomes’ ability to run on a curve is special. It shows when he extends plays and escapes defenders who run faster in a straight line than Mahomes. He trains the skill with Stroupe, but some qualities come naturally.

Both quarterbacks possess a “calmness,” Stroupe said. Both got their starts athletically in baseball. Raiola’s loading movements and his shoulder anatomy, according to Stroupe, naturally resemble that of the older QB.

And his size, at 6 feet 3 and 230 pounds, is a separator — Mahomes is listed at 6-2 and 225.

“He’s more physically imposing,” Stroupe said. “I think Dylan really does have the potential to be a power type of runner in situations that he wants.”

He can run over a middle linebacker, Stroupe said. Of course, Matt Rhule and the Nebraska coaches would prefer that Raiola not.

If needed, Stroupe, in collaboration with Campbell and the Nebraska staff, will have him ready.

An early focus on greatness

Last year, when Raiola remained unsigned as a recruit, Christensen talked with Rhule about the QB.

“He asked me what I thought about Dylan,” Christensen said. “I said it’s very rare for any 18-year-old kid to come into a major university, especially a Big Ten university, and play at a high level.

“But if anybody can do it, it would be him.”

Christensen has coached Mahomes on the mechanics of playing quarterback since 2017, his rookie year in the NFL. He started with Raiola four years ago.

Many of the principles in Mahomes’ education apply to Christensen’s work with Raiola. When the coach met Dylan, Christensen said, “he was like the young stallion colt that you’re trying to break.”

It’s not unlike the path Mahomes took as a colt out of Whitehouse, Texas, before he threw for more than 11,000 yards in three seasons at Texas Tech.

Raiola committed to Ohio State in 2022 but reneged shortly after Rhule took over at Nebraska in November of that year. He then committed to Georgia in May 2023. Nebraska never lost interest. Days before the signing period opened last December, Dylan flipped to Nebraska.

The words of Christensen resonated. He told Rhule that Raiola works too hard to fail.

“He eats it, sleeps it and drinks it,” Christensen said. “It means too much to him. Without it being obsessive, it’s just his dream. And he’s one of the rare kids whose actions match his words. He’s driven by the possibility of being great.”

Like Stroupe, Christensen communicates with Raiola during the season. But Glenn Thomas, the Huskers’ first-year quarterbacks coach, and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield handle every piece of game preparation.

“Too much information can muddy the waters,” Christensen said.

His conversations with Raiola focus on fundamentals. For instance, Christensen reminds the QB, as he’s done with Mahomes, about the cause and effect of proper ball flight.

A fine line exists for Raiola in his process to throw with touch versus zip.

“It’s just kind of a feel thing for me,” Raiola said. “It’s an instinct that’s been trained over and over again.”

He’s hardly slipped up in four games. His two interceptions in 88 attempts were both ripped from the hands of Nebraska receivers.

“His preparation is allowing him to see what’s happening in game time,” Rhule said.

‘Just like Patrick’

The Mahomes comp first went viral in July after Nebraska shared a photo of Raiola at the start of the preseason camp.

He was simply walking on campus. Looking like Mahomes.

Mahomes, ever the good sport, weighed in on the buzz.

Two weeks ago, a question about Raiola surfaced in a Mahomes news conference. The quarterbacks have trained together.

“It’s cool, honestly,” Mahomes said. “I was that guy. I grew up watching players. I loved A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez), played shortstop, would try to make plays just like him. “It helped me become the athlete that I am.”

Every Raiola highlight provides more low-hanging fruit to an internet audience. Raiola seems unfazed by the attention.

“He has a lot of pride but no ego,” Rhule told NFL Network personality Rich Eisen last week on his radio show. “You can feel that right off the bat. And so you kind of gravitate to him.”

As for the Mahomes comparison, Rhule’s OK with it.

“The great thing is, he’s a winner, just like Patrick,” the Nebraska coach said on Eisen’s show.

Since his fame jumped as a high-level prospect, Raiola has largely avoided social media.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him nervous,” said senior receiver Isaiah NeyorRaiola’s top target this season. “It’s just in him. He’s a natural competitor.”

And he’s trying his best to act like a normal college athlete.

He answers questions from the media twice a week, as scheduled. He’s a fixture in the lower bowl at the Devaney Center to watch the No. 2-ranked Nebraska volleyball team — usually alongside his sister Taylor, a former TCU volleyball player who works for Nebraska football in a recruiting position.

Two years ago, before Rhule called Christensen to inquire about Dylan, and before the Huskers bided their time while the QB helped Georgia Recruit its 2024 class, Rhule watched Dylan throw in a workout as a high school junior.

Fresh out of the NFL after two-plus seasons as coach of the Carolina Panthers, Rhule talked when the workout ended with a recruiting staffer from back in Nebraska.

The first question for the coach: “How’d he look?”

“He’s Mahomes.”

(Photos of Dylan Raiola, Patrick Mahomes: Steven Branscombe / Getty Images, Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images)